Mirjam Hindrichs is the Head of Enterprise Risk management at QBE EO but needed to overcome development gaps to get where she is today. She explains how she identified these areas and the support she obtained as she worked towards her career goal.
A law background in Germany
I’ve been at QBE for 14.5 years and am now the Head of Enterprise Risk management for QBE EO in London. This is a long way from where I started, as I obtained my law qualification in Germany and started out in the insurance industry there.
Having gained experience in commercial claims handling, I went on to work as an internal auditor for 2.5 years, performing audits in Germany and different international locations, when I was forced to think about my next step due to a company restructure. I considered doing a masters degree in the US or London but was then made aware of an internal audit role with QBE in London, which I applied for and got the job.
Working my way up
The job I started with at QBE was another internal auditor role and, from there, I transitioned into the risk management department a few years later and then up the ladder, taking on people management responsibilities. The move between countries with a different language, etc. was challenging at times and it took some time to adjust. When I wasn’t promoted in internal audit after a few years, I took a sideways step into risk management. It seemed an interesting time for that given Solvency II was taking off, and my audit skills were transferable to risk management. This was a good move that I have never regretted and I am now where I want to be, having been involved in multiple areas of the business through both internal audit and risk management.
Developing skills and training
Whilst giving me a good basis, my qualification did not particularly prepare me for an audit or risk management role, tackling the gaps in my knowledge and experience has been vital in the progression of my career and has been achieved through a variety of approaches. As well as learning by doing on the job and asking lots of questions, I’ve also taken opportunities for more formal development.
This has included attending industry meetings, such as discussions organised by the Institute of Risk Management or Lloyd’s, training organised within our department, and an emerging leadership course in preparation for potentially taking over management responsibilities. Whilst it took a while to take off, QBE has consistently supported me in developing my career opportunities, and I have had good support from most of my managers. I would say though that career progression was not something that came my way automatically. In my experience it takes commitment, being proactive and enquiring about opportunities as well as demonstrating that one is ready to take the next step. I’ve also been able to direct my questions to colleagues and those higher up in order to develop my knowledge.
As part of the emerging leadership training, I’ve also had access to a mentor on an unofficial basis. But nothing compares to taking ownership of responsibilities and “going the extra mile” to show determination (and getting exposure to different areas of the business also helps), and this has been an effective way of preparing myself to transition up through the management structure to become Head of Enterprise Risk Management.
Tackling challenges
Moving roles between Germany and the UK was always going to be challenging to a certain degree, but it’s not the only difficulty I've had to overcome. Given the nature of the job, being in auditing can be challenging, but on the other hand, it provided me with a good knowledge of QBE and its processes and controls. This set me up well for the transition into risk management, although once there, I had to learn about new areas that I had never been involved in before, such as Solvency II and the Internal Model with its capital-related topics. It took some dedication to progress and taking advantage of opportunities where they arose, for example where there were internal restructures. As I see it, one is never “done” with learning, I’m still learning all the time.
When it comes to personal skills, there have been barriers I’ve needed to overcome too. Delegation probably doesn’t come naturally to me, but with the time pressures associated with the role and the scope of my responsibilities and the team getting bigger, I’ve had to learn to “let go” and trust in the people I work with, who are all very capable.